Lasting machine



,Jan. 5, 1943. H. BOOT HROYD LASTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24, 1942 Jan. 5, 1943i BQQTHRQYD 2,307,103

LASTING MACHINE Filed March 24, 1942 2 Sheets-811mb 2 7 Patented Jan. 5, 1943 Hubert Boothroyd, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 24, 1942, Serial No. 436,009

In Great Britain April 28, 1941 I 14 Claims.

This invention relates to lasting machines, and is herein illustrated as applied to a toe-end lasting machine constructed generally as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,097,567, granted on November 2, 1937, on an application of F. B. Keall. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not thus limited in its applicability.

A machine constructed as shown in the above- -mentioned. Letters Patent is provided with wipers for wiping the toe end of an upper heightwise of a last and for thereafter wiping the marginal portion of the upper inwardly over an insole on the last, the wipers being carried by a wiper support by which they are moved heightwise of the last in wiping engagement with the upper. The last and shoe are positioned and held during the toe-lasting operation by a shoe support which comprises a holddown for engaging the bottom of the toe end of the insole, a toe rest movable to clamp the shoe against the holddown and a heel rest movable into" supporting engagement with the heel-end face of the shoe, the toe rest and the heel rest being thus movable by a hand lever common to both of them. In the use of the machine on a shoe of the welt type the holddown determines the position of the shoe lengthwise by engagement with the inner face of the lip of the insole at the end of the toe, and it also further positions the shoe relatively to the shoe support by engagement with the lip at the sides of the toe. The shoe support'is, however, mounted to swing about an axis extending heightwise of the shoe and located in the vicinity of the end of the toe to permit the shoe to adjust itself to the wipers as they wipe the upper heightwise of the toe.

An object of this invention, among others, is to provide means convenient for use in a machine constructed, for example, generally as above described to position a shoe lengthwise in the machine when the shoe is one of a type having no lip on the insole. For this purpose, the construction herein shown comprises a toe-end gage against which the toe-end face of the shoe is positioned when the shoe is presented to the machine by the operator, and means for withdrawing the gage from gaging position, to make way for the wipers, without any special attention or effort on the operator's part. More particularly, in theillustrative embodiment of the invention, the withdrawal of the gage is efi'ected by the above-mentioned hand lever whereby the toe rest and the heel rest are moved into engagement with the shoe, a lost-motion. connection being provided between the hand lever and the gage so that the shoe will be securely clamped and held before the gage is withdrawn.

The invention further provides novel means for locking the shoe support against movement in directions widthwise of the shoe whenthe wipers wipe the upper inwardly over the insole, to afford better insurance that they will wipe it inwardly equal distances at the opposite sides of the toe andwill be in the best positions relatively to the shoe to indicate where upper-fastening tacks should be located when the upper is fastened by the use of a hand tacker. In the construction shown a locking device is carried by the shoe support and is operated through a flexible cable by means which acts automatically in response to the movement of the wiper support heightwise of the shoe. I fl The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of the machine shown in the above-mentioned Letters Patent as modified for purposes of the present invention, the outline of portions of the machine being indicated diagrammatically;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of certain parts which are more or less concealed in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view from the right with reference I to Figs. 1 and 2, showing mainly in elevation the toe-end gage and parts associated therewith;

Fig. 4 is a rear view of a portion of the means for locking the shoe support; and

Fig. 5 is a view from the right of another portion of the locking means.

In view of the disclosure in the previously mentioned Letters Patent, portions of the machine which are constructed substantially as heretofore will be described only in so far as is necessary for an understanding of the present invention. The machine is provided with toe-lasting wipers 2 carried by a wiper support 4 which by means of a treadle 6 is moved upwardly to cause the wipers to wipe the toe-end portion of an upper on a last heightwise of the last. Thereafter the wipers are advancedand closed to wipe the marginal portion of theupper at the end and the sides of the eration. In operating on a shoe of the welt type such a pl'ate'has been used heretofore also to position the shoe lengthwise by engagement with the plate by a toe rest 14 which is moved upwardly into engagement with the top of its forepart, and it is further controlled by a heel rest 16 which is moved into engagement with its heel-end face. The toe rest I4 is supported on the upper end of a lever l8 controlled at its lower end by means which need not be herein described for adjusting the toe rest in directions lengthwise of the shoe. Substantially midway between its upper and lower ends the lever I8 is pivotally mounted on an arm 20 fast on a pin 22 which is rotatable in the lower arm of the U-shaped casting l0. Also fast on the pin 22 is an arm 24 pivotally connected by a pin 26 to a slide 28 movable upwardly and downwardly along an upstanding link 30. The slide 28 and the link 38 are connected together by tension springs 32, only one of which is visible in the drawings, so that by downward movement of the link 30 downward movement is imparted yieldingly to the slide 28 to move the toe rest upwardly into clamping engagement with the shoe.

For imparting downward movement to the link 30 to raise the toe rest as above described the lower end of the link is pivotally connected to the left-hand end of a substantially horizontal floating lever 34 which near its left-hand end is pivotally connected by a pin 36 to one arm of a three-armed lever 38. Another arm of this three-armed lever is pivotally mounted at 40 on the lower arm of the U-shaped casting Ill. The third arm 42 of the three-armed lever is pivotally connected to a downwardly inclined link 44 the lower end of which is connected to a pair of crank arms 46 fast on a shaft 48 rotatably mounted in the casting Hi. On the shaft 48 is secured a gear segment 50 engaged by another gear segment 52 fast on a hand lever 54 which is mounted to swing about a fixed shaft 56 in the casting I0. By swinging the hand lever 54, therefore, in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1) the three-armed lever 38 is swung also in a counterclockwise direction and thereby imparts downward swinging movement to the left-hand end of the floating lever 34 to raise the toe rest in the manner hereinbefore described.

Swinging movement of the floating lever 34 is also utilized to move the heel rest l6 into engagement with the shoe after the toe rest has clamped the shoe against the holddown plate [2. The heel rest is supported on a horizontally movable slide 53 mounted in a guideway in the shoe-support casting ill. This slide is connected by a link 66 to-one arm 62 of a bell-crank lever mounted to turn on the shaft 48, the other arm 64 of this lever being connected by a short link 66 to the right-hand end of the floating lever 34. After the toe rest has engaged the shoe the floating lever is swung downwardly about its connection with the link 30 by continued movement of the hand lever 54, thereby swinging the arms 62 and 64 in a counterclockwise direction to move the heel rest into engagement with the shoe. The springs 32 are yieldable to permit further movement of the hand lever 54 after the heel rest has engaged the shoe, and in response to the further movement of the hand lever the link 44 and the crank arm 46 assume a substantially parallel relation to maintain both the toe rest and the heel rest in their operative positions, Movement of the hand lever is limited by a suitable stop (not shown). Means also controlled by the movement of the hand lever 54 are provided for finally rendering the springs 32 ineffective and for thereby causing the toe rest and the heel rest to act in a positive manner on the shoe, and for imparting to the entire shoe support and the shoe a short movement toward the left to a predetermined position prior to the lasting operation, as fully disclosed in the previously mentioned Letters Patent.

For purposes of this invention, in order to adapt the machine for more satisfactory use on shoes of a type having no lip on the insole, there is provided means other than the holddown plate !2 for positioning each shoe lengthwise in the machine. This means comprises a toe-end gage 58 arranged to occupy normally a position somewhat to the left of the holddown plate and at substantially the same height as the plate. The gage 68 is arranged to serve as an abutment against which the toe-end face of the shoe is positioned when the operator presents the shoe in engagement with the holddown plate, and it includes two fingers 10 (Fig. 3) spaced apart widthwise of the shoe to assist also in positioning the toe end of the shoe laterally. The gage 68 is mounted on the lower end of one arm of a rearwardly extending substantially U-shaped member 72, the other arm of this member being integral with one arm of a lever 14 which extends toward the left, as th parts are viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, and is pivotally mounted between its ends to swing about a horizontal pin 16 supported on a bracket 18 fast on a portion of the shoe-support casting l8. Pivotally connected to the left-hand end of the lever 14 is one end of a bar 89 which extends toward the right and is provided near its right-hand end with a slot 82 in which is positioned a pin 84 mounted on the upper end of an arm 86. This arm is fast on the previously mentioned shaft 48 which, as hereinbefore described, is turned in a clockwise direction (Fig. l) by the movement of the hand lever 54 in a counterclockwise direction to move the toe rest and the heel rest into engagement with the shoe. Accordingly, as the hand lever is moved in this manner, the pin 84 travels along the slot 82, and by the time the pin arrives at the right-hand end of the slot the toe rest l4 and the heel rest IE will have been moved into engagement with the shoe to clamp and hold the shoe in the position determined by; the toeend gage. The further movement which the hand lever thereafter receives causes the pin 84 to move the bar toward the right and thereby to swing the lever 74 in a counterclockwise direction to lift the gage 63 out of the path of upward movement of the wipers 2. To insure that the gage will be well retracted from the Wipers there is provided a coil spring 88 connected at one end to a link 90 which is pivoted on the lever 14 and connected at the other end to the bracket 18. The arrangement of this spring is such that its axis lies normally at the right of the axis of the lever 14, as illustrated in Fig. 2, so that the spring tends to swing the gage 68 downwardly and maintains it normally in its operative position, this position being determined by engagement of a shoulder 92 on the lever 14 with a pin 94 on the bracket 18. When the lever is swung by the bar 80 to withdraw the gage, the axis of the spring 88 passes to the left of the axis of the lever 74, so that the spring becomes effective to impart further swinging movement to the lever in the direction to withdraw the gage.

The shoe-support casting I is mounted as heretofore for forward and rearward swinging movements about a vertical pin 96 (Fig. 1), cor responding to the pin 589 shown in the previously mentioned Letters Patent, the axis of this pin extending heightwise of the shoe in the vicinity of the end of the toe. This permits the operator to swing the shoe support to position the shoe relatively to the wipers and also permits the shoe to adjust itself to the wipers as the latter are moved heightwise of the last, so that their pressure on the upper at the opposite sides of the toe will be substantially equalized. To facilitate such swinging movements of the shoe support the casting I0 carries a roll 58 mounted on a lug I00 on the casting, the roll resting-on a bar or track I02 which extends widthwise of the shoe. In operating on a shoe having no lip on the insole against which the wipers can press the margin of the upper at the end of their inward move-' ments it is desirable to prevent any swinging movement of the shoe support in a direction widthwise of the shoe at the time when the wipers wipe the upper inwardly over the insole, in order to afiord better insurance that they will wipe it inwardly equal distances at the opposite sides of the toe and will be in the best positions relatively to the shoe to indicate where upper-fastening tacks should be located when such tacks are driven by a hand tacker. The machine herein shown is accordingly further provided, for purposes of this invention, with means for locking the shoe support, the locking means comprising a locking device carried by the shoe support and mechanism for operating the locking device in response to the upward movement of the wiper support 4. The locking device includes a pin IE4 (Fig. 5) rotatably mounted in the above-mentioned lug I00 and having two faces H16 and I08 in angular relation to each other. Normally the face I06 is substantially parallel to the lower face of the track I02 and is spaced slightly therefrom. When the pin is turned in a counterclockwise direction, as the parts are viewed in Fig. 5, the corner of the pin at the junction of the two faces I06 and IE8 binds against the lower face of the track I02 and thus locks the shoe support against swinging movement. For thus turning the pin there is mounted thereon an arm IIG which is split at its upper end and is fastened to the pin by a clamping screw H2. To the lower end of the arm H0 is fastened one end of a flexible cable II4 which extends first toward the rear and then downwardly and toward the left-hand side of the machine in a guide H6. The other end of the cable extends upwardly and is connected to a substantially horizontal arm of a bell-crank lever I I8 (Fig. 4) mounted to swing about a pin I which is supported on a bracket I22 fast on the frame of the machine. The guide IIli for the flexible cable is secured to the bracket I22 and to a bar I24 (Fig. 5) fast on the previously mentioned lug I00. A spring I26 confined between the bar I24 and the lower end of the arm IIll serves normally to hold the arm in a position in which the face I 06 of the pin IE4 is substantially parallel to the track I02 as hereinabove described. On the lower end of a substantially vertical arm of the bell-crank lever H8 is mounted a roll I28, and a spring I30 connected to the bell-crank lever tends to swing the lever in-the direction to hold the roll in engagement with anfedge face of a downwardly extending bar I32. The opposite edge face of the bar I32 is engaged by a guide roll I34. mounted on the bracket I22. At its upper end the bar is suspended on a pin I36 (Fig. l) which is carried by the vertically movable wiper support 4 and corresponds to the pin 25I shown in the previously mentioned Letters Patent. When,'therefore, the wiper support is moved upwardly by the treadle 6 to cause the wipers to wipe the upper heightwise of the toe, the bar I32 is moved upwardly by the wiper support, and when the wipers have been raised substantially to the level of the shoe bottom an inclined face I38 on the .bar I32 arrives in a position opposite the roll I28. I 39 to swing the bell-crank lever H8 in the direction to exert a pull on the cable H4 and thereby to swing the arm II!) to cause the pin m to bind on the track I02. The shoe support is thus locked against any forward or rearward swinging movement and is held locked during the movements of the wipers to wipe the uppwer inwardly over the insole. Since the locking of the shoe support does not take place until the wipers have been moved upward substantially to the plane of the shoe bottom, the support is free to swing substantially throughout the upwiping operation of the wipers, so that the operator may swing it if required to position the shoe relatively to the Wipers and the shoe may further adjust itself to the wipers in response to any excess of pressure of one or the other of them on the upper at one side or the other of the toe. It will be understood that after the wipers have been retracted from over the shoe bottom the wiper support is moved downwardly to its starting position. As the bar I32 is moved downwardly with the wiper sup- -port its inclined face I38 serves to swing the bell-crank lever II8 reversely against the resistance of the spring I30, thus permitting the spring I26 to return the arm III] to its normal position and to unlock the shoe support.

. Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

' 1. In a lasting-machine, the combination with toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for positioning a shoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a shoe rest, mechanism movable by the operator for moving said shoe rest into engagement with the shoe, and means for withdrawing said toe-end gage from gaging position by the'movement of said mechanism.

2. In a lasting machine, the combination with toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for positioning a shoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a shoe 'rest, mechanism including a lever for moving said shoe rest into engagement with the shoe, and means for withdrawing said toe-end gage from gaging position by the movement of said lever.

3. In a lasting machine, the combination with toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for positioning ashoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a shoe rest, mechanism for moving said shoe rest into operative position, and a lostmotion connection between said mechanism and the toe-end gage for withdrawing said gage from gaging position after the shoe rest has arrived substantially in operative position.

4. In a lasting machine, the combination with toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for posi- This permits the spring tioning a shoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a shoe rest, mechanism including a hand lever for moving said shoe rest into engagement with the shoe, and lost-motion means arranged to be operated by said hand lever for withdrawing the toe-end gage from gaging position after the shoe rest has engaged the shoe.

5. In a lasting machine, the combination with toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for positioning a shoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a holddown for engaging the bottom of the forepart of the shoe, a toe rest movable to clamp the shoe against said holddown, mechanism including a hand lever for thus moving said toe rest, and additional mechanism arranged to be operated by said hand lever for withdrawing the toe-end gage from gaging position.

5. In a lasting machine, the combination with toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for positioning a shoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a holddown for engaging the bottom of the forepart of the shoe, a toe rest movable to clamp the shoe against said holddown, mechanism for thus moving said toe rest, a lever supporting said toe-end gage and mounted for swinging movements heightwise of the shoe, and means connected to said lever for withdrawing said gage from gaging position by the movement of said mechanism.

7. In a lasting machine, the combination with 1 toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for positioning a shoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a toe rest and a heel rest movable into engagement with the shoe, mechanism including a member movable by the operator and common to said toe rest and heel rest for thus moving them, and means for withdrawing the toe-end gage from gaging position by the movement of said member.

8. In a lasting machine, the combination with toe-lasting means, of a toe-end gage for positioning a shoe lengthwise relatively to said lasting means, a support for said gage mounted to swing about an axis extending laterally of the shoe to withdraw the gage from gaging position,

and a spring arranged to act on said support at one side of its axis to hold the gage in gaging position and to act thereon at the other side of said axis when the support is swung to withdraw the gage.

9. In a lasting machine, the combination with wipers for wiping the toe end of the upper of a shoe on a last heightwise of the last and then inwardly over the bottom of the last, of a wiper support movable to carry the wipers heightwise of the shoe, a shoe support movable in directions widthwise of the shoe to adjust the shoe to the wipers, a locking device carried by the shoe support for locking it against such movement when the wipers wipe the upper inwardly, and means for imparting operative movement to said locking device thus to lock the shoe support in response to the movement of the Wiper support heightwise of the shoe.

10. In a lasting machine, the combination with wipers for wiping the toe end of the upper of a shoe on a last heightwise of the last and then inwardly over the bottom of the last, of a wiper support movable to carry the wipers heightwise of the shoe, a shoe support movable in directions widthwise of the shoe to adjust the shoe to the wipers, a locking device for locking the shoe support against such movement when the wipers wipe the upper inwardly, a flexible cable connected to said locking device for operating it, and means for operating said cable in response to the movement of the wiper support heightwise of the shoe.

11. In a lasting machine, the combination with wipers for wiping the toe end of the upper of a shoe on a last heightwise of the last and then inwardlyover the bottom of the last, of a wiper support movable to carry the wipers heightwise of the shoe, a shoe support movable in directions widthwise of the shoe to adjust the shoe to the wipers, a locking device carried by the shoe support for looking it against such movement when the wipers wipe the upper inwardly, spring-operated mechanism connected to said locking device for operating it, and a member movable heightwise of the shoe with the wiper support for controlling said spring-operated mechanism to render it operative.

12. In a lasting machine, the combination with wipers for wiping the toe end of the upper of a shoe on a last heightwise of the last and then inwardly over the bottom of the last, of a wiper support movable to carry the wipers heightwise of the shoe,.a shoe support movable in directions widthwise of the shoe to adjust the shoe to the wipers, a locking device for locking the shoe support against such movement when the wipers wipe the upper inwardly, a flexible cable connected to said locking device for operating it, a spring-operated bell-crank lever for operating said cable, and a member movable heightwise of the shoe with said Wiper support for controlling said bell-crank lever to render it operative.

13. In a lasting machine, the combination with wipers for wiping the toe end of the upper of a shoe on a last heightwise of the last and then inwardly over the bottom of the last, of a wiper support movable to carry the wipers heightwise of the shoe, a shoe support mounted for swinging movement in directions widthwise oi the shoe about an axis in the vicinity of the toe end of the shoe to adjust the shoe to the wipers, a track along which a portion of said shoe support is thus movable, a locking device carried by the shoe support and including a rotatable member for engaging said track to lock the shoe support against movement when the wipers wipe the upper inwardly, and mechanism for operating said member in response to the movement of the wiper support heightwise of the shoe.

14. In a lasting machine, the combination with wipers for wiping the toe end of the upper of a shoe on a last heightwise of the last and then inwardly over the bottom of the last, of a wiper support movable to carry the wipers heightwise of the shoe, a shoe support mounted for swinging movement in directions widthwise of the shoe about an axis in the vicinity of the toe end of the shoe to adjust the shoe to the Wipers, a track along which a portion of said shoe support is thus movable, a locking device carried by the shoe support and including a member for engaging said track to lock the shoe support against movement when the wipers wipe the upper inwardly, a flexible cable connected to said member for operating it, spring-operated mechanism for operating said cable, and means movable heightwise of the shoe with said wiper support for controlling said spring-operated mechanism to render it operative.

HUBERT BOOTHROYD. 

